Millburn Soccer Club Opens Season

The Millburn traveling soccer league's season kicked off with tournament action and regular play. Here's a round-up of action:

 The U8 Millburn Gunners swept their division in the Essex Fall Tune Up Tournament Sept. 10-12, winning all four games and scoring a total of 20 goals. The team beat the Montville Lightning, 4-0. Goals were scored by  Alex Marx (two), Blake Wiseman, Jake Zirlin.

Game two was a 5-0 win over the Livingston Lions wih goals by Blake Wiseman (two), Jason Mazer (two), and Brandon Merves. Game three resulted in a 6-0 win over The West Orange Rangers 6-0- Goals were from Jake Zirlin, Brandon Merves, Alfie Smith (two), Harry Richman, Alexander Rothe. The last game was a 5-2 win over the Livingston Lumberjacks with goals from Jason Mazer (two), Blake Wiseman, Brandon Merves and Alfie Smith.

The rock-solid defense of Bennett Murphy, Christopher Maldonado, Malcolm Migoya, Isaac Lenner and Zach Siegel limited opponants to only a few shots on goal and kept the ball on the offensive side of the field for most of every game.

The Millburn Braves swept the Essex Tune up Tournament for the championship in the U11 Boys B Division on Saturday and Sunday.  During the four games the Braves outscored their opponents with a total of 15 goals and gave up only two goals the entire tournament.

The Millburn Braves beat the West Orange Rebels 6-2 on Saturday.  Henry Dench and Ross Gang each scored two goals for the Braves.  Owen Florin and Matthew Bernstein each scored one.  Ryan Wenslau, Raghav Pant and Mark Nagpal played amazing defense and helped goalies Henry Cohen and Atah Abdi. Later that morning, the Braves beat the Livingston Landsharks 3-0.  Ross Gang scored two for the Braves (one on a penalty kick) and Matthew Bernstein scored one.  Atah Abdi and Ryan Wenslau starred as goalies and were helped by Kyle Mazer and Raghav Pant on defense.

The Braves beat the Montville Marauders 2-0 on Sunday. Matthew Bernstein and Ross Gang scored for the Braves.  Atah Abdi and Henry Cohen were goalies. Ryan Wenslau, Nikolay Pomytkin and Mark Nagpal played an amazing defensive game. Later that morning the Braves swept the West Orange Rebels 4-0 to win the tournament undefeated.  Matthew Bernstein scored two for the Braves, and Ross Gang and Spencer Marell each scored one.  Atah Abdi was Goalie. Andrew Kam, Ben Pearl and Aidan Halkic all contributed to the win.   

The Millburn Soccer Club's Strikers opened their season by winning all four games they played in the Essex Fall Tune-up, making them the winner of the U14B Division. The Strikers won 2-0 against Livingston Legion on Saturday. Kyle Weissman and Joey Aronskind each scored one goal. Later that afternoon, the Strikers tied with no score against the Westfield Rangers. Millburn then won in a shootout with three of five goals.

The Strikers tied with no score against Glen Ridge Lightning on Sunday. In the finals, the Strikers won 1-0 against the Westfield Rangers. Joey Aronskind scored the lone goal. Througout the tournament keeper Matthew Abrams let up only one goal in the shootout against Westfield. Millburn's received power from offensive players George Garber and Cole Keller. Jake Hubertus, Max Nesser and Philip Stein bolstered the defense.

The Millburn Cyclones started their season strong with two wins and a loss at the Essex Fall Tuneup Tournament, tying for second in their flight.

Hannah Barr, Sophie Wolf and Thaïs Barraque on Saturday all scored penalty kicks in a shootout against the Montville Magic, resulting in a 3-2 win.  Mary Pagano excelled in goal.

Also on Saturday, the Cyclones suffered a 5-0 loss to the Chatham Laser. Sarah Bressler, Julia Fried and Sophie Wolf powered the field.

In Sunday's action, a penalty kick from Sarah Bressler and goals from Emma Katz, Amy Nadel and Sophie Wolf propelled the Cyclones to a 4-0 victory over the Chatham Pumas, with assists from Hannah Barr and Emma Katz.  The team also received stellar play from keepers Mary Pagano and Hannah Barr.

The Millburn Heat kicked off its season by going 3-1 at the Essex Fall Tune-Up tournament. On Saturday they fell to rival West Orange United 5-2.  Zane Sollender scored both goals for the Heat, and Zach Butter provided strong defensive leadership.

Also on Saturday, the Heat defeated the Livingston Lancers 2-1. Jack Messelsohn and Ramsey Little paced the Heat with a goal apiece. Joe Simon was standout in goal.

On Sunday, the Heat took down the Cranford Thunder by a score of 2-0.  Messelsohn and Little led the scoring with one goal each. Jack Marx and Sam Meyerowitz anchored the team with strong all-around play. Justin Wachtel's play in goal helped blank the Thunder. Also on Sunday, the Heat routed Parsippany Barca 7-1. Little added two more goals to his weekend total.  Sollender and Thomas Barraque also scored as did Christian Clark on a header. Two goals were own goals from the opponent.

The Millburn Soccer Club's Flash opened its season by going 3-1 at the Essex Fall Tune-Up Tournament.  The Flash defeated both the Maplewood Cougar Claws 4-0 and the Parsippany Dynamite 2-0 on Saturday.  Melissa Gates had four of the goals and Essie Pasternak and Anna Nesser each had one goal.

The Flash defeated the Livingston Lobos 2-1 on Sunday.  Melissa Gates and Essie Pasternak each had a goal and an assist.  Gioia Basile provided constant offensive pressure both days.  The Flash lost its final game  to PDA Storm 1-0.  The team displayed outstanding defense throughout the tournament with Grace Mayo and Mary Claire Cicenia leading the way in goal and Emma Hou and Antonia Park providing great backfield play.

The Millburn Blast played four tough games in the Essex Fall Tune Up Tournamanet.  The Blast fell 3-0 against the Livingston Lumberjacks.  Jake Friedman and Michael Stulberger starred in the midfield for the Blast.  Justin Green and Richard Earhardt played excellent in goal.

In the second game, the Blast fell 3-1 against the West Orange Rangers.  Michael O'Keef scored the loan goal for the Blast.  Henry Miller was outstanding in goal, and Jonah Liwschitz starred on defense for the Blast.  The Blast fell 4-0 in the 3rd game against the Montville Lightning.  Jacob Popolow, Thomas Wohlbruck and Brennan Escobar played stellar defense for the Blast.  The Blast fell 2-1 in the final game against the Livingston Lions.  Michael O'Keef scored for the Blast.  Andrew Wohlbruck played solid defense, and Alec Bachman and Mark Hubertus starred in the midfield.

The Millburn Crusaders U13 girls soccer team prepared themselves well in the Essex Fall Tune-Up soccer tournament over the weekend.  Despite finishing 1-2 in the tourney, the team should be pleased with their win over 2-0 Chatham Stingers with goals by Jenny Mazzella and Taylor Leen and in the positioning and saves of keeper Rachel Rubinstein.

A 1-0 loss in the local derby with the Millburn Spirit on Sunday nonetheless saw good soccer all round with Ilana Nemerow's tireless running creating chances for Jenny Mazzella and Carolyne Leys.  The energetic defense of Emma Lipsky and calm presence of sweeper Hazel Solender dampened the Spirit for most of the game, who finally broke through late in the second half to secure the victory and a place in the final against the New Providence Comets. The Comets defeated the Crusaders 4-0 in the tournament opener, a scoreline that belies quality play all round.

The Millburn u9 Barracudas posted a 2-1-1 record at the Essex County season tune up. In game one they  beat a solid Chatham team 1-0. Leah Manigold scored the lone goal that was assisted by Taylor Nemit. Lane Patterson played great defensive in the win. In the second game they tied Livingston 2-2. Maggie Speckhart and Julia Pampush scored and were assist by Remie Lamkin and Maggie Speckhartm. Aubrey Bright and Yazmi starred on defense.

On Sunday they won 2-1 versus montville. Maggie Speckhart and Leah Manigold scored with Paige Nemit and Kyra Goldman playing strong defense. In the final game they lost 1-0. Carly Dinawitz played great in goal.

The Millburn Mystics U8 girls team enjoyed their first outing as a team at the Essex Fells Tune Up Tournament.   They played their own club's Millburn Wizards team on Friday at the Heritage Field in Livingston and won 6-0. The Mystics played the Livingston Lasers at Heritage Field and lost 2-3 on Saturday with Jordyn Lipkin scoring both goals. On Saturday afternoon, the Mystics played the Montville Thunder team at Heritage Field and lost 1-2 with Samantha Rothman scoring the only goal. The team braved the inclement weather on Sunday and played the Livingston Lynx team in West Orange's Baseball Zone and tied 2-2 with Hailey Ravitz and Jordyn Lipkin scoring the goals.

The Millburn Hornets started the 2010 soccer season playing in the Bridgewater Kickoff Classic.  The Hornets playing their first season on a large sided field were 1-3.

Their first game went down to the wire, losing 1-0 to the Somerset Hills SC Fierce. Keepers Sarah Rovit and Anne Beckerman held off the Somerset Hills team. Brooke Hoffman and Libby Lindstrom played a good defensive game.

The second game was a 5-1 loss to the more experienced Cranford SC Crush. Katelyn Zegas scored the loan goal. Sammy Comito, Jessica Stern and Mallory Podell gave all they could in the losss.

The next two games were against the Watchung Hills SA Dynamo. The Hornets won the first game 2-0 on goals by Katelyn Zegas and Isabelle Azulay with an assist from Annie Beckerman.  Ava Belcoure, Hannah Klein and Jessica Stern were all over the field. The second game against the Dynamos was a 1-0 loss.  The Hornets had many shots on goal but couldn't get the ball past the Dynamo goal keeper. Brooke Hoffmanm Sarah Rovit and Katherine Kuiken played a determined game. 

The Millburn Blaze participated in the Bridgewater Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The Blaze won their first game 2-1 against the Berkeley Heights Wolverines. Tyler Barishaw scored the first goal off an assist from Zach Graves, and David Sternlieb scored the second, unassisted goal. Kyle Silbert excelled in defense, securing the win by  blocking the opponents penalty kick.

Game two saw the Blaze victorious again, this time against the Bridgewater Santos, by a score of 2-0. Tyler Barrishaw scored his second goal of the day, and Zach Graves scored with an assist from Ethan Lenner. Spencer Solit and Tyler Bernard were superb for the defense.

Sunday saw the Blaze lose their first game to the Colonia Gunners by a score of 2-0. Jared Simons and Thomas Silberberg starred for the defense in this losing effort. Game four saw the Blaze victorious again, beating the Hopewell Valley Comets by a very close score of 3-2. Ethan Lenner scored the first goal with an assist from David Sternleib and Tyler Barrishaw. Joseph Cecinia scored the second goal, and Nick Visceglia scored the third. Bennett Garcia excelled in the defense in this very close game.    

The Millburn Titans defeated the Wayne Patriots on Sunday by a score of 6-0. Ben Kessler scored for the Titans on a header off a corner kick from Josiah Crawford in the second minute, and the Titans continued to apply pressure the whole game.  Bryce Millington scored a hat trick, and Reese Little and Crawford also contributed goals.  Jonathan Wang and Max Engelbrechtsen played strong defense for the Titans.